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| Snowdrops in the graveyard this morning |
A piece of chocolate, a gin and tonic,.....sex!
Whatever the object of desire is.....it's always good to scratch an itch so to speak.
Today I got the urge to cook and bake.
After bog standard jobs first thing, I walked up to the shop to buy some butter, bumping into villagers Wendy, Daphne and Frank, Rowenna with the crooked wave, the wisecracking Barbara Parry and animal helper Pat as I did so. Most commented on the fact that I didn't have the dogs with me. Catching me without the dogs is as unsettling to some as me finding Jimmy Savile sat at the kitchen table in one of his silver track suits.
I bought the butter and as I delivered extra eggs to Purgatory on my way home, I spied Mrs Trellis walking her dog way up the lane. Satan was dragging her so fast up the hill that her bobble hat was bouncing back and forth so much, that she resembled an energetic pixie.
I thought to myself that I should try the homoeopathic medication she had given him the other week, when he had collapsed so dramatically.....
It seems to have worked wonders.
Anyhow the rest of the morning I have been baking
The weak winter sun has brought out several sets of walkers, all of whom have stopped by the garden wall to buy eggs. Unfortunately Pippa from the rectory bought them all up a little earlier.
She had her Zsa Zsa Gabor fur hat on I noticed and looked very swish!
This afternoon I polished the silver with tomoto ketchup
It's a trick my grandmother taught me and is useful if you run out of silver cleaner.......Mrs Evans called around for eggs and asked if I had been pickling onions
I've just boxed up the soup for freezing......and as I did so caught Albert with his whole face in the custard. I'll pick the bits of cat spit out, Chris will never notice......hey ho.....
I was really enjoying your blog post until the last bit about Albert......
ReplyDeleteLol I thought it bookenfpded the saccarine very well x
DeleteIf I only have the recipe of the chiken pie.
ReplyDeleteEasy peasy
DeleteRe the custard - I am shocked - but then that is probably what they do in cafes isn't it?
ReplyDeleteNow then pat..even tom stephenson doesn't phase you
DeleteIt will give it that je ne sais quoi.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he won't notice the difference and Albert must have enjoyed his treat.
ReplyDeleteOrdinary days are the very best days.
ReplyDeleteThose snowdrops are precious.....lovely picture!
I need an ordinary day but I think that is a long time coming. I would love that soup recipe.
ReplyDeleteI made it up...but if you still want it?........
DeleteYes please, I love soups.
DeleteWhat a wonderful photo.
ReplyDeleteAs for Albert.... very naughty.
Have you thought about how much cat spittle (and various dead critters) plus eye goobers and cat hair you have digested over the years ? Naughty Albert but we forgive them everything don't we.
So your ordinary day was very nice.
cheers, parsnip
I'd like a nice slice of fruit pie but without the custard thank you. Your 'ordinary' day was a bit of a bakefest!
ReplyDeleteJohn, did you know cats cannot taste "sweet"? They lack the genetic taste receptors necessary. Albert must have been after the egg/milk mixture - proteins.
ReplyDeleteHe's not a milk Moggie...so it must have been the egg
DeleteI once cracked an egg into a small dish and left it on the counter to warm a bit. When I returned to the kitchen, most of the egg white was gone. As the dog was too small to jump onto the counter, I could only assume the cat was the culprit.
DeleteSometimes while watching a show on BBC, it's difficult to place the time period. One thinks, surely it isn't like that there now. But then reading your blog, I realise that it is a step back in time in some parts. And you're very fortunate to find that slice of paradise.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the custard!
It's the way I tell it
DeleteI looooooooooooooooove reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteThannnnnnnnkkkkkkkkkkkk yooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu
DeletePhew! after those first couple of sentences I was a bit worried about what you were going to tell us!
ReplyDeleteMe?
DeleteA gin and tonic, sex,... I am building up for something but wait, nothing happens and then, wait for it, you went for, baking. Oh John ..is there anything I can do for you..
ReplyDeleteIf you mean sex...then no! I'm a one man man x
DeleteYour pastry looks good John, and Albert in the custard made me smile.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
I am presently quite enchanted by the picture in my mind of Mrs Trellis as an energetic pixie. That is partly the reason why I cut the bobble off my hat as I too have an energetic dog, no where near as energetic as Satan! I love the way your day reads out on your blog x
ReplyDeleteA cast of characters here worthy of a movie me feels.....Hollywood producers please note
DeleteI miss my snowdrops. Always the first sign of spring. We used to have them at our property in Pennsylvania. Will have to get some more. "Spicy carrot squash soup?" Sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI made the re ie up and it was bloody Gorgeous
DeleteYou sound so happy and content puttering in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI won't tell Chris...if I get a piece of that pie!
Deal x
DeleteI suggest you tell Chris about Albert and give him the chance to have a reciprocal dip into Albert's food. After all, fair's fair!
ReplyDeleteMe thinks I'll say nothing
DeleteI'd do the same thing John Gray. I mean not tell Chris. My husband would die if he thought an animal was in the vicinity of his meal. Looks like a spread. I'm afraid I would eat it all myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the seventh day you rested? I think I did a breather after all that activity.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, then. The way to a man's heart IS through his stomach. Cat spit or no!
ReplyDeleteNaughty Albert, you know you'd make someone a lovely husband..........just as well. ;)
ReplyDeleteTwiggy
Just as well I get hitched in four weeks ( tomorrow)
DeleteThese ordinary days are the small miracles of our lives. I do believe this. If only we take time to notice. Which you have.
ReplyDeleteLook and you shall find....or something like that xx
DeleteGood God, where do you get your energy.
ReplyDeleteI work at the hospital just one night a week Susie x
DeleteCat spit merely builds the immune system.
ReplyDeleteJane x
Don't worry about the cat spit, no one can see it. But the cat hair, that's another thing.
ReplyDeleteAll this domesticity, and only 4 weeks from the big day? You're 'nesting' that's what you're doing. Next thing you'll be telling us you are sewing stuff for your 'bottom drawer'
ReplyDeleteAnd making gingam curtains?
DeleteThe top photo of the church with the snowdrops in the foreground is probably the best Gray picture you have ever posted on this blog. Smashing. Were you prostrate in the churchyard? Good job the gravediggers didn't see you for you might have been buried alive!
ReplyDeleteThank you YP
DeleteIt was taken from the road...on the top of the wall
Oh, you British and your friggin' snowdrops in FEBRUARY. We're having a blizzard here in Alberta today.
ReplyDeleteDebra, we've got some in Portland (Oregon, not Maine) and it's too warm by far! The snow is already melting off the mountains.
DeleteOh sure, e . . . RUB IT IN!!!
DeleteIf you really want bread but don't have yeast handy, add baking powder and baking soda to the flour, and a half teaspoon of lemon juice to the liquids... the acid in the lemon juice will activate the other two ingredients and you'll get a lovely rise without all the kneading and waiting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that jac xx
DeleteOoh, I love making squash & carrot soup with a bit of fresh ginger and a light sprinkle of chilli flakes - lovely and warming on a cold winters day!
ReplyDeleteI expect Chris is well aware that there is cat spit and fur everywhere. Ditto on the canine front.
ReplyDeleteLove your snowdrops - which would promote any day out of the ordinary here.
I don't think there is ever an ordinary day in your life John....as always you make each day extraordinary...love the cast of characters who weave in and out of your view.
ReplyDeleteSusie...we all have such a cast me thinks
DeletePerhaps but it takes true vision and a beautiful soul to see it.
DeleteWith Albert in the kitchen you'll have to put a lid on it :)
ReplyDeleteYou lead an exciting life....the happiness and fun of day to day in Trelawnyd!
What are the restaurant hours please? I could perhaps fly across the pond tomorrow for some soup and fruit pie, if there's any leftovers!
ReplyDeleteAll looks awesome - John, you could be one of those private chefs who go and cook dinner in rich people's homes (do they do that in the UK!) in your spare time, haha!
"Bon appétit" -
Mary in North Carolina
I'm a plain cook...nothing more x
DeleteOne day I was cooking a roast dinner. I had the leg of lamb resting on the table . I then noticed the roast was fine only to discover my Doberman had taken it . My neighbours heard some colourful language ! Sadly the roast was unable to be saved i.e dog had really had a go with it , steaming hot too it was ! The roast veggies were nice but I sadlt missed the roast . Hey ho!
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh
DeletePlease replace fine with gone in relation to the roast story !
ReplyDeleteGood to learn about tomato sauce and silver, also good to know it's not just me who wipes the pet spit of food x
ReplyDeleteyour bakefest reminded me of my childhood. Mum would only turn the oven on once a week so when she did there was bread, biscuits, a slice, a cake, a fruit loaf if the pantry badly needed stocking and a baked pudding of some description.
ReplyDeleteWhere you get the motivation I'll never know but it's lovely!
Needs must....chris loves his oastry
DeleteKeep stumm I say. Whenever something drops on the floor while we are cooking my daughters and I say in unison " That'll be dad's"
ReplyDeleteI've seen Albert do worse
DeleteHe once walked across rolled pastry after using the cat litter box
a little cat spit never hurt anyone (says the lady with 3 kitties)!
ReplyDeleteyou were a busy househusband today; wish I could smell/taste your efforts!
and the snowdrops...all we have is snow, no flowers. been too damn cold. :-(
Tomato ketchup for silver polish? Good tip. Buttermilk works as well. Or, maybe it's all the rubbing...
ReplyDeletePut some whipped cream on the custard; Chris will never know.
ReplyDeleteHe never did
DeleteI bet Albert thought you'd made him a lovely treat.
ReplyDeleteGinger was in the habit of tucking into cooling down quiches, he loved the middle bit best, so I used to just cut out the nibbled centre and serve the rest. I thought I'd foil him by covering one in clingfilm when it was waiting to go in the fridge, but when I went back in the kitchen he'd chewed through the clingfilm and was happily tucking into the quiche as usual!
The snow drops are glorious John. The chicken pies look excellent and are right up my street (and I have the stomach to prove it).
ReplyDeleteOh, I bet Albert was happy!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of polishing silver with ketchup. That's a new one on me.
Is "Going Gently" the series coming out after the wedding? 'Cause I know you are too busy now...besides, you would have to be free to play you, as no one else would do...
ReplyDeleteMaybe the series starts with the wedding!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Albert was just wiping his feet on that rolled out pastry, I bet it is quite sensual, hmmm think I might try it!